Solarposition.org

Ulster · Ireland · 54.95° N · 7.73° W

Solar position in Letterkenny

Sun position, daylight and the best solar panel angle for Letterkenny — computed for 54.95° N, 7.73° W, 8 m above sea level.

Sunrise today08:18110° ESE
Sunset today18:11250° WSW
Best panel angle41°year-round, facing south
Off-grid angle76°best for the darkest month

The sun right now

Azimuth180.0°
Elevation23.2°
At solar noon, 13:14Open on the sun map

Sun in Letterkenny today

Saturday, 24 October 2026 · local time UTC+1

EventTimeDirection / height
Astronomical dawn06:16sun 18° below horizon
Nautical dawn06:5812° below
Civil dawn07:406° below
Sunrise08:18110° ESE
Golden hour ends09:10sun 6° up
Solar noon13:1423.2° high
Golden hour starts17:18sun 6° up
Sunset18:11250° WSW
Civil dusk18:486° below
Nautical dusk19:3012° below
Astronomical dusk20:1218° below
Day length9 h 53 min

Sun path diagram for Letterkenny

Where the sun stands in the sky: the centre is straight overhead, the outer ring is the horizon. Numbers mark local clock hours.

15°30°45°60°75°N30°60°E120°150°S210°240°W300°330°June solstice6789101112131415161718192021EquinoxDecember solstice101112131415Today
  • June solstice
  • Equinox
  • December solstice
  • Today

On the June solstice the sun reaches 58.5° at solar noon in Letterkenny; on the December solstice only 11.7°. Sunrise swings from 44° NE in June to 132° SE in December — a 88° arc along the horizon.

Sunrise, sunset and sun height by month

Values for the 21st of each month, local clock time including daylight saving time.

MonthSunriseSolar noonSunsetDay lengthNoon elevation
January08:3912:4216:458 h 07 min15.3°
February07:3912:4417:5010 h 10 min24.6°
March06:3012:3818:4612 h 16 min35.4°
April06:1313:2920:4614 h 33 min47.0°
May05:1313:2721:4216 h 29 min55.3°
June04:5113:3222:1317 h 22 min58.5°
July05:2113:3721:5216 h 31 min55.5°
August06:1613:3320:5014 h 33 min47.1°
September07:1413:2319:3212 h 18 min35.6°
October08:1213:1518:1810 h 06 min24.3°
November08:1412:1616:188 h 05 min15.1°
December08:5312:2916:047 h 11 min11.7°

A year of daylight in Letterkenny

Each column is one day of 2026. Bright: sun above the horizon; soft: civil twilight; line: solar noon. Steps are daylight saving time changes.

00:0003:0006:0009:0012:0015:0018:0021:0000:00JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Best solar panel angle in Letterkenny

Fixed array facing south (azimuth 180°). Energy per kWp from NASA POWER monthly climate, including clouds, temperature and snow reflection.

41°collects the most energy over a year: 963 kWh per kWp.

76°gives the most in the darkest month — the one an off-grid system is sized for.

20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%0°10°20°30°40°50°60°70°80°90°Best year-round 41°Best worst-month 76°70°Yearly energyWorst-month energy
  • Yearly energy
  • Worst-month energy
TiltkWh/kWp per yearShare of best yearDecember kWh/kWp/dayBest ÷ worst month
0°77080%0.2814.5×
15°88292%0.498.7×
30°94898%0.686.4×
41° year-round best963100%0.805.3×
45°961100%0.835.0×
55° = latitude94198%0.904.4×
60°92296%0.934.1×
70°86890%0.963.6×
76° off-grid best82686%0.963.3×
90°70273%0.932.9×

A fixed array in Letterkenny produces the most over a year at 41°. The design month for an off-grid system is December: at 76° it makes 0.96 kWh per kWp a day, 20% more than at 41°, and costs 14% of the yearly total. Why steep panels win winter.

Off-grid solar in Letterkenny at 70°

Daily energy of 1 kWp by month. Bars: panels at 70°. Line: panels at 41° (year-round best).

012345January: 1.19 (70°)1.2JanFebruary: 1.98 (70°)2.0FebMarch: 2.70 (70°)2.7MarApril: 3.38 (70°)3.4AprMay: 3.43 (70°)3.4MayJune: 3.11 (70°)3.1JunJuly: 2.94 (70°)2.9JulAugust: 2.86 (70°)2.9AugSeptember: 2.59 (70°)2.6SepOctober: 2.05 (70°)2.1OctNovember: 1.34 (70°)1.3NovDecember: 0.96 (70°)1.0Dec41°
MonthSun hours, flatSun hours at 70°kWh/kWp/day at 70°at 41°Mean temp.
January0.551.371.191.015.9 °C
February1.232.251.981.835.7 °C
March2.323.082.702.776.4 °C
April3.823.883.383.858.2 °C
May4.813.983.434.2610.4 °C
June4.863.663.114.0212.8 °C
July4.463.492.943.7314.2 °C
August3.713.372.863.3914.3 °C
September2.643.042.592.7913.1 °C
October1.492.392.051.9810.7 °C
November0.691.551.341.178.2 °C
December0.401.110.960.806.5 °C
Year2.59 avg2.77 avg868 kWh963 kWh

Sizing example. To run a 1 kWh-per-day load through December on LiFePO4 batteries (charge controller, battery and inverter losses included) you need about 1,230 Wp of panels at 70°, versus 1,480 Wp at 41°. The steep array is 17% smaller for the same winter. Size your own system.

Row spacing in Letterkenny

Distance between rows of 2 m long panels (slope length) so that no row shades the next between 10:00 and 14:00 solar time on the winter solstice.

13.3 mrow pitch at 70°

10.3 mrow pitch at 41°

Row spacing calculator

How Letterkenny compares in Ireland

Against the other 39 places in Ireland with climate data, for a fixed array at its best angle.

40thof 40 places in Ireland for sunshine: 2.59 peak sun hours a day on flat ground.

−8%solar energy a year compared with the average place in Ireland: 963 against 1,044 kWh per kWp.

+22 mindaylight on the longest day, compared with Dublin: 17 h 22 min against 17 h 00 min.

41°best year-round tilt here; across Ireland it runs from 40° in Tralee to 42° in Dublin.

Letterkenny gets the least sun of the 40 places in Ireland (2.59 peak sun hours a day); the sunniest is Carrigaline with 2.97. In its darkest month, December, 1 kWp of off-grid panels at 70° makes 0.96 kWh a day here, against 1.32 kWh on average in Ireland. The shortest day lasts 7 h 11 min, −19 min compared with Dublin.

The sunniest places in Ireland

Solar forecast for Letterkenny, next 48 hours

Expected output of 1 kWp at 70°, computed from the ICON-EU weather model of the Deutscher Wetterdienst (DWD), Europe.

Loading the latest forecast…

Questions about the sun in Letterkenny

What is the best solar panel angle in Letterkenny?
For a fixed array facing south, the best year-round tilt in Letterkenny is 41°, worth about 963 kWh per kWp a year. An off-grid system that has to get through December does better at about 76°.
What time is sunrise and sunset in Letterkenny today?
On 24 October 2026 the sun rises at 08:18 and sets at 18:11 local time (UTC+1), giving 9 h 53 min of daylight. Solar noon is at 13:14.
How many peak sun hours does Letterkenny get?
On a flat surface 2.6 hours a day averaged over the year, from 0.4 in December to 4.9 in June. Panels tilted at 70° receive 1.1 sun hours a day in December.
How high does the sun get in Letterkenny?
At solar noon the sun stands 58.5° above the horizon on the June solstice and 11.7° on the December solstice.
Is Letterkenny a good place for solar panels?
With 2.6 peak sun hours a day on flat ground, Letterkenny ranks 40th of 40 places in Ireland for sunshine. A 1 kWp array at the best angle (41°) makes about 963 kWh a year here, 8% less than the average place in Ireland.

Places near Letterkenny

All places in Ireland

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Sun positions: NREL Solar Position Algorithm. Climate: NASA POWER monthly climatology (NASA Langley Research Center). Forecast: Deutscher Wetterdienst, ICON-EU (CC BY 4.0), processed. Places: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). Time zones: IANA. Sources and licences.